Housing and development

• Residential new starts totaled 969 units in 2022, 1,403 in 2023, 705 in 2024, and 1,278 in 2025.
• The estimated housing gap at year-end was 4,631 in 2022, 3,828 in 2023, 3,723 in 2024, and 3,045 in 2025.
• Listed upcoming developments include Riverway with 1,800 estimated single-family and multifamily units; Westlake Village with 1,453; Bluebonnet Crossing with 1,200 single-family units; Edgewood with 700 single-family units; Cordova Springs with 260 single-family and multifamily units; Renaissance at Sanger with 25 single-family units; and Cypress Village with 21 single-family units.
• The vacancy strategy says vacant housing units are off-market and unavailable for occupancy, and that the Strategic Housing Plan estimated 5,000 vacant properties across the city.
• High-density recommendations under development include small-lot allowance, new parking minimums, mixed-use development, and cottage court allowance.
• The City adopted an ADU ordinance and is finalizing 5 pre-approved ADU plans intended to streamline the process and reduce some development costs.
• The presentation says the Waco Housing Authority is converting public housing properties at Estella Maxey and Kate Ross through the Rental Assistance Demonstration program; South Terrace has completed that process.

Public services and infrastructure

• A neighborhood priorities survey with 398 respondents identified improved infrastructure as a general priority.
• The survey also identified accessible and attractive housing, access to healthy food and healthy activities, access to higher-paying jobs, job training, access to childcare, paths to homeownership, rehab for existing homeowners, and new housing for middle-income families as priorities.

Decisions and votes

• No Council vote, motion, or vote count is documented in the provided presentation.
• The presentation states an ADU ordinance has already been adopted, but it does not include the ordinance text or adoption vote details.
• The presentation states zoning recommendations will be presented to Council at a future meeting, but no decision is documented in this source.

Resident action items

• Residents interested in ADUs may watch for the 5 free pre-approved plans, which the presentation says will be available to the public very soon.
• Residents with inherited property or unclear title issues may be affected by the City’s heir-property and deed education work described in the presentation.
• Residents interested in vacant-lot development may want to follow the City-owned lot RFP process, since 77 buildable lots are listed as still available.
• Residents who rely on or are interested in housing rehabilitation assistance may want to watch for future funding decisions, because the presentation identifies funding gaps and relocation-cost barriers.

Full summary

This source is a City of Waco Strategic Housing Plan Update presentation dated March 17, 2026. It focuses on housing supply, vacant properties, higher-density housing, neighborhood revitalization, housing rehabilitation, and related task group work. It does not document a council vote, public hearing, consent agenda, or executive session.